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Oscars: The envelope gets a new design

February 16, 2011 | 11:22
am

"The new envelope, please!"

The envelopes and announcement cards that herald the winners of the Academy Awards have gotten a glam facelift thanks to designer Marc Friedland. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the use of sealed envelopes at the Oscar ceremony.

"The envelopes are such an integral part of the Academy Awards, yet there has never been a dramatic, specially designed envelope and card to announce the Oscar recipients," said telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer in a statement Wednesday morning.

Friedland's custom-designed envelope is handcrafted from a high-gloss iridescent metallic gold paper stock, with red-lacquered lining that features the Oscar statuette hand-stamped in satin gold leaf.

The outside and flap of the envelope are an Art Deco-influenced satin gold frame with an ecru inset panel that has the name of the award category in charcoal ink. The card that reads "And the Oscar goes to...." along with the winner's name is fashioned from heavyweight ecru featuring gold-foil accents and a gold-leaf-embossed Oscar statuette. The winner's name will also be printed in charcoal ink.

Friedland, whose L.A.-based company Marc Friedland Couture Communications has designed high-end invitations for the past 25 years, said that designing the envelope is a dream come true for him.

"I thought it was kind of funny that the Oscar envelope was the most non-descript, office supply store bought," he said, adding that he believed the Academy Awards never had a designed envelope until now because the academy "didn't recognize the iconic value" of the piece of stationery.

Friedland's idea was to reflect the Oscars' attempt this year to return "to the real heritage of what the awards are about," he said. "At the end of the day, the event is a celebration of an amazing accomplishment. We wanted to bring back the elegance and glamor. The design concept was to be timeless, regal and rich and luxe ... the envelope serves as an iconic symbol of that moment."